# 川

| 川 | U+5DDD, &#24029; CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5DDD |
| ← 巜 [U+5DDC] | CJK Unified Ideographs | 州 → [U+5DDE] |

## Translingual
### Han character

川 (Kangxi radical 47, 巛+0, 3 strokes, cangjie input 中中中 (LLL), four-corner 2200$_0$, composition ⿲丿丨丨)

#### Derived characters

* 𠆯, 𠯀, 圳, 汌, 𦘶, 杊, 𤆑, 㸪, 玔, 甽, 𥃹, 𥐣, 紃(𬘓), 𧈶, 𡔠, 訓(训), 𮙰, 䡅, 𫶨, 𪩢, 釧(钏), 馴(驯), 𩵙, 𩾧, 𦤸, 順(顺), 𡵅, 𡿫, 𪯠, 𣅕, 氚, 𫇨, 𤽃, 𥫨, 𥄊, 𥬂, 𪡢, 𩭁, 𨤅

#### Descendants

* つ (Hiragana character derived from Man'yōgana)
* ツ (Katakana character derived from Man'yōgana)

#### References

* Kangxi Dictionary: page 323, character 23
* Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 8673
* Dae Jaweon: page 624, character 7
* Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 32, character 2
* Unihan data for U+5DDD

## Chinese

* 川 (Written Standard Chinese)
* 川 (Cantonese)

### Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 川 :
| Shang | Western Zhou | Warring States | Warring States | Warring States | Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) | Liushutong (compiled in Ming) |
| Oracle bone script | Bronze inscriptions | Bronze inscriptions | Chu slip and silk script | Qin slip script | Small seal script | Transcribed ancient scripts |
| | Old Chinese |
| 川 | *kʰjon |
| 釧 | *kʰjons |
| 巛 | *kʰuːn |
| 巡 | *sɢljun |
| 馴 | *sɢljun |
| 紃 | *sɢljun, *ɢljun |
| 甽 | *kljuns, *kʷeːnʔ |
| 順 | *ɢljuns |
| 訓 | *qʰuns |
Pictogram (象形) – compare 水 (OC *qʰʷljilʔ), 川, and 𡿧.

### Etymology

The Middle and Old Chinese reconstruction of this word is phonologically problematic (STEDT):
* Karlgren (1957) notes that the Middle Chinese form is irregular based on evidence from Shijing rimes.
* Based on velar contacts in the same phonetic series, e.g. 巛, 甽 and 訓, Baxter (1992) and Schuessler (2007) reconstruct the word with a velar initial (Handel, 1998; Sagart, 1999), which undergoes irregular palatalization in the development to Middle Chinese (Baxter, 1992).
* Based on other characters in the same phonetic series, e.g. 順 and 馴, Sagart (1999), and later, Baxter and Sagart (2014), reconstructs 川 with a lateral initial and suggests that only a *t- prefix would account for the Middle Chinese initial /t͡ɕʰ/.
Schuessler (2007) relates this word to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *kl(j)u(ŋ/k) (“river; valley”), whence 江 (OC *kroːŋ, “river”), 谷 (OC *kloːɡ, “valley”), Tibetan ཀླུང (klung, “river”), Burmese ချောင်း (hkyaung:, “stream”). STEDT notes that this does not account for the *-n coda.
STEDT instead compares it to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m-t(w)əj-n ~ m-ti-s (“water; fluid; liquid; river; soak; spit”), whence 涕 (OC *tʰiːlʔ, “tears”), Proto-Kuki-Chin *tuj (“water; fluid; liquid”), Chepang तीः (“water; rain; river”); this depends on a reconstruction with a dental initial and requires positing an *‑n suffix not present in Tibeto-Burman languages.

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Standard)
       (Pinyin): chuān (chuan$^1$)
       (Zhuyin): ㄔㄨㄢ
    (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): cuan$^1$
    (Xi'an, Guanzhong Pinyin): pfǎn
    (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): чүан (čüan, I)
* Cantonese
    (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): cyun$^1$
    (Dongguan, Jyutping++): coen$^1$
    (Taishan, Wiktionary): cun$^1$
* Gan (Wiktionary): con$^1$
* Hakka
    (Sixian, PFS): chhôn
    (Hailu, HRS): chon$^ˋ$
    (Meixian, Guangdong): con$^1$
* Jin (Wiktionary): cuan$^1$
* Northern Min (KCR): chṳ́ing
* Eastern Min (BUC): chuŏng
* Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): coeng$^1$ / cyeng$^1$ / cue$^1$ / cuiⁿ$^1$
* Southern Min
    (Hokkien, POJ): chhoan / soan / chhng / chhuiⁿ / suiⁿ
    (Teochew, Peng'im): cuang$^1$ / cuêng$^1$ / ceng$^1$
    (Leizhou, Leizhou Pinyin): qieng$^1$ / cui$^1$
* Southern Pinghua (Nanning, Jyutping++): cyun$^1$
* Wu (Northern, Wugniu): $^1$tshoe / $^1$tshuon
* Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): qyenn$^1$
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: chuān
*** Zhuyin: ㄔㄨㄢ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: chuan
*** Wade–Giles: chʻuan$^1$
*** Yale: chwān
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chuan
*** Palladius: чуань (čuanʹ)
*** Sinological IPA : /ʈ͡ʂʰu̯än⁵⁵/
** (Chengdu)
*** Sichuanese Pinyin: cuan$^1$
*** Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: cuan
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sʰuan⁵⁵/
** (Xi'an)
*** Guanzhong Pinyin: pfǎn
*** Sinological IPA : /p͡fʰã²¹/
** (Dungan)
*** Cyrillic and Wiktionary: чүан (čüan, I)
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡ɕʰyæ̃²⁴/
    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: cyun$^1$
*** Yale: chyūn
*** Cantonese Pinyin: tsyn$^1$
*** Guangdong Romanization: qun$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sʰyːn⁵⁵/
** (Dongguan, Guancheng)
*** Jyutping++: coen$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sʰøn²¹³/
** (Taishanese, Taicheng)
*** Wiktionary: cun$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sʰun³³/
* Gan
** (Nanchang)
*** Wiktionary: con$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sʰɵn⁴²/
* Hakka
** (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhôn
*** Hakka Romanization System: con$^ˊ$
*** Hagfa Pinyim: con$^1$
*** Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰon²⁴/
** (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
*** Hakka Romanization System: chon$^ˋ$
*** Sinological IPA: /t͡ʃʰon⁵³/
** (Meixian)
*** Guangdong: con$^1$
*** Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰɔn⁴⁴/
* Jin
** (Taiyuan)
*** Wiktionary: cuan$^1$
*** Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡sʰuæ̃¹¹/
* Northern Min
** (Jian'ou)
*** Kienning Colloquial Romanized: chṳ́ing
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sʰyiŋ⁵⁴/
* Eastern Min
** (Fuzhou)
*** Bàng-uâ-cê: chuŏng
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sʰuoŋ⁵⁵/
* Puxian Min
** (Putian)
*** Pouseng Ping'ing: coeng$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sʰœŋ⁵³³/
** (Xianyou)
*** Pouseng Ping'ing: cyeng$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sʰyøŋ⁵³³/
** (Putian)
*** Pouseng Ping'ing: cue$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sʰuei⁵³³/
** (Xianyou)
*** Pouseng Ping'ing: cuiⁿ$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sʰũĩ⁵³³/
* coeng1/cyeng1 - literary;
* cue1/cuiⁿ1 - vernacular (only used in 尻川).
* Middle Chinese: tsyhwen
Rime :
| Character | 川 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 昌 (24) |
| Final (韻) | 仙 (78) |
| Tone (調) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Closed |
| Division (等) | III |
| Fanqie | 昌緣切 |
| Baxter | tsyhwen |
| Reconstructions ||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /t͡ɕʰiuᴇn/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /t͡ɕʰʷiɛn/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /t͡ɕʰjuæn/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /cʰwian/ |
| Li Rong | /t͡ɕʰiuɛn/ |
| Wang Li | /t͡ɕʰĭwɛn/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /t͡ɕʰi̯wɛn/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | chuān |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | cyun$^1$ |
* Old Chinese
    (Baxter–Sagart): /*t.l̥u[n]/
    (Zhengzhang): /*kʰjon/
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) :
| Character | 川 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | chuān |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ tsyhwen › |
| Old Chinese | /*t.l̥u[n]/ (MC -jwen is irregular) |
| English | stream, river |
| Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary. ||
Zhengzhang system (2003) :
| Character | 川 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| No. | 1628 |
| Phonetic component | 川 |
| Rime group | 元 |
| Rime subdivision | 3 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 穿 |
| Old Chinese | /*kʰjon/ |

### Definitions

川
* river; stream; brook
    川流不息 ― chuānliúbùxī ― to flow continuously
    From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
    Zǐ zài chuān shàng, yuē: “Shì zhě rúsī fū! Bù shè zhòuyè.” [Pinyin]
    The Master standing by a stream, said, "It passes on just like this, not ceasing day or night!"
* Short for 四川 (Sìchuān, “Sichuan Province, China”).
    川菜 ― chuāncài ― Sichuan cuisine
* plain
    平川 ― píngchuān ― plain
* road
* (Taiwanese Mandarin) to boil briefly
* Alternative form of 穿 (chuān)
* (Internet slang) Short for 川普 (Chuānpǔ, “Donald Trump”).
    挺川 ― tǐngchuān ― to support Donald Trump
    川粉 ― chuānfěn ― Trumpster
* a surname

#### See also

* 河 (hé), 江 (jiāng), 溪 (xī)
* (to boil briefly): 汆 (cuān), 焯 (chāo), 灼 (zhuó), 涮 (shuàn)

### Compounds

* 一川
* 一馬平川 / 一马平川 (yīmǎpíngchuān)
* 三川
* 中川 (Zhōngchuān)
* 九川
* 乾川 / 干川
* 二川
* 伊川 (Yīchuān)
* 伊川先生
* 伊川翁
* 信濃川 / 信浓川
* 傍矣川
* 兩川 / 两川
* 八川
* 八水三川
* 共川鼻飲 / 共川鼻饮
* 冰川 (bīngchuān)
* 冰川期 (bīngchuānqī)
* 利川 (Lìchuān)
* 利川小曲
* 南川 (Nánchuān)
* 口壅若川
* 口川
* 名山勝川 / 名山胜川
* 名山大川 (míngshāndàchuān)
* 名川
* 吳川 / 吴川 (Wúchuān)
* 吸川
* 四川 (Sìchuān)
* 四川盆地 (Sìchuān Péndì)
* 四川胡椒 (Sìchuān hújiāo)
* 回川
* 地平川
* 均川 (Jūnchuān)
* 大川 (dàchuān)
* 大金川
* 大陸冰川 / 大陆冰川
* 婺川
* 媚川都
* 寒川
* 小川 (Xiǎochuān)
* 山崩川竭
* 山川 (shānchuān)
* 山川米聚
* 山止川行
* 巖居川觀 / 岩居川观
* 川人
* 川光
* 川劇 / 川剧 (chuānjù)
* 川原
* 川口 (Chuānkǒu)
* 川吏
* 川后
* 川土
* 川地
* 川坻
* 川域
* 川堂
* 川塗 / 川涂 (chuāntú)
* 川塞
* 川境
* 川壑
* 川奠
* 川守
* 川室
* 川岑
* 川岡 / 川冈
* 川岫
* 川岳
* 川崎 (Chuānqí)
* 川崎症
* 川嶽 / 川岳
* 川巖 / 川岩
* 川川
* 川師 / 川师
* 川府
* 川店 (Chuāndiàn)
* 川底下 (Chuāndǐxià)
* 川柳
* 川梁
* 川椒
* 川歸 / 川归
* 川氣 / 川气
* 川水
* 川沚
* 川河
* 川流
* 川流不息 (chuānliúbùxī)
* 川涂 (chuāntú)
* 川渚
* 川湄
* 川游
* 川渟嶽峙 / 川渟岳峙
* 川澤 / 川泽 (chuānzé)
* 川澤納汙 / 川泽纳污
* 川瀆 / 川渎
* 川甽
* 川界
* 川砥
* 川祇
* 川禽
* 川程
* 川穀 / 川谷
* 川紅 / 川红
* 川色
* 川芎
* 川華 / 川华
* 川藪 / 川薮
* 川蜀
* 川衡
* 川谷
* 川貝 / 川贝 (chuānbèi)
* 川貨 / 川货
* 川費 / 川费 (chuānfèi)
* 川資 / 川资 (chuānzī)
* 川路
* 川軍 / 川军
* 川途 (chuāntú)
* 川連 / 川连
* 川逝
* 川阜
* 川防
* 川陸 / 川陆
* 川靈 / 川灵
* 川館 / 川馆
* 川騖 / 川骛
* 川鱗 / 川鳞
* 川鹽 / 川盐
* 川墨
* 川黨 / 川党
* 巨川
* 巨川材
* 常川 (chángchuān)
* 平川 (píngchuān)
* 徂川
* 德川 (Déchuān)
* 德川幕府 (Déchuān Mùfǔ)
* 支川
* 斜川
* 星宿川
* 晴川
* 晴川閣 / 晴川阁
* 枝川
* 梅川 (Méichuān)
* 樊川
* 樊川翁
* 橫川 / 横川
* 武陵川
* 江川
* 汶川 (Wènchuān)
* 沈釀川
* 汶陽川 / 汶阳川
* 泗川
* 河川 (héchuān)
* 河川襲奪 / 河川袭夺
* 洛川 (Luòchuān)
* 流川
* 流血成川
* 涇川 / 泾川 (Jīngchuān)
* 海川螺
* 淅川 (Xīchuān)
* 渭川
* 湘川
* 渭川千畝 / 渭川千亩
* 潁川 / 颍川 (Yǐngchuān)
* 漢川 / 汉川 (Hànchuān)
* 潁川四長 / 颍川四长
* 潁川集 / 颍川集
* 濟川 / 济川
* 濬川
* 玄川
* 玉川
* 玉川奴
* 玉川子
* 玉雞川 / 玉鸡川
* 琴川
* 瑤川 / 瑶川
* 瘴川花
* 百二山川
* 百川 (bǎichuān)
* 百川學海 / 百川学海
* 百川朝海
* 百川歸海 / 百川归海 (bǎichuānguīhǎi)
* 盤川 / 盘川 (pánchuān)
* 眠川
* 眾川赴海 / 众川赴海
* 禊川
* 秦川
* 秦川女
* 稚川
* 穰川
* 簞醪投川 / 箪醪投川
* 米糧川 / 米粮川 (mǐliángchuān)
* 經川 / 经川
* 綠川 / 绿川
* 練川三老 / 练川三老
* 臨川 / 临川 (línchuān)
* 臨川四夢 / 临川四梦
* 臨川派 / 临川派
* 臨川羡魚 / 临川羡鱼
* 臨川羨魚 / 临川羡鱼
* 芥川賞 / 芥川赏
* 荊川集 / 荆川集
* 蛉川
* 蛟川
* 蜀川
* 行川
* 裸川
* 謝臨川 / 谢临川
* 跋履山川
* 跋山涉川
* 跋涉山川
* 輞川 / 辋川 (Wǎngchuān)
* 輞川圖 / 辋川图
* 迷川
* 迴川 / 回川
* 通川
* 逝川
* 遼川 / 辽川
* 邢川 (Xíngchuān)
* 金川 (Jīnchuān)
* 釣川 / 钓川
* 銀川 / 银川 (Yínchuān)
* 錦川 / 锦川
* 鎮川 / 镇川 (Zhènchuān)
* 鏡川 / 镜川
* 長川 / 长川 (chángchuān)
* 閩川 / 闽川
* 閱川 / 阅川
* 防川 (Fángchuān)
* 陸川 / 陆川 (Lùchuān)
* 隄川
* 雲川 / 云川 (yúnchuān)
* 雲貴川 / 云贵川 (Yúnguìchuān)
* 霅川
* 霞川
* 霸川
* 靈川 / 灵川 (Língchuān)
* 青川 (Qīngchuān)
* 驚川 / 惊川
* 魏國山川 / 魏国山川
* 麓川
* 麗川 / 丽川

### References

* “川”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

## Japanese
### Kanji

(First grade kyōiku kanji)
* river

#### Readings

* Go-on: せん (sen, Jōyō)
* Kan-on: せん (sen, Jōyō)
* Kun: かわ (kawa, 川, Jōyō)
* Nanori: か (ka)、こ (ko)、さわ (sawa)

#### Compounds

* 川(かわ)上(かみ) (kawakami, “upstream”)
* 川(かわ)下(しも) (kawashimo, “downstream”)
* 川(かわ)岸(ぎし) (kawagishi, “river bank”)
* 川(かわ)口(ぐち) (kawaguchi, “mouth of river”)
* 川(かわ)崎(さき) (Kawasaki, “Kawasaki”)
* 川(かわ)瀬(せ) (kawase, “rapids”)
* 川(かわ)蝉(せみ) (kawasemi, “kingfisher”)
* 川(かわ)端(ばた) (kawabata, “riverbank”)
* 川(かわ)縁(ぶち) (kawabuchi), 川(かわ)縁(べり) (kawaberi, “riverside”)
* 川(かわ)獺(うそ) (kawauso, “otter”)
* 川(かわ)嫁(よめ) (kawayome, “river nymph”)
* 川(かわ)原(ら) (kawara, “riparian plain, flats alongside a river”)
* 川(せん)柳(りゅう) (senryū, “comic haiku”)
* 小(お)川(がわ) (ogawa, “brook”)
* 河(か)川(せん) (kasen, “rivers”)
* 山(さん)川(せん) (sansen, “mountains and rivers”)
* 滝(たき)川(がわ) (takigawa, “rapids”)
* 谷(たに)川(がわ) (tanigawa, “mountain stream”)
* 堀(ほり)川(かわ) (horikawa, “canal”)
* 淀(よど)川(がわ) (Yodogawa, “Yodogawa River”)
* 川(かわ)下(くだ)り (kawakudari, “going downstream”)
* 川(かわ)沿(ぞ)い (kawazoi, “along the river”)
* ドン川(がわ) (Don-gawa, “Don River”)
* 天(あま)の川(がわ) (Ama no gawa, “Milky Way”)
* 江(え)戸(ど)川(がわ) (Edogawa, “Edo River”)
* 角(かど)川(かわ) (Kadokawa, “surname”)
* 河(か)川(せん)敷(しき) (kasenshiki, “riverbed”)

### Etymology

* Kanji in this term
* 川
* かわ Grade: 1
* kun'yomi
* Alternative spelling
* 河
From Old Japanese 川 (kapa), from Proto-Japonic *kapa.
First attested in the Kojiki of 712 CE.

### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) かわ [kàwáꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
* IPA: [ka̠β̞a̠]
* (Kagoshima) IPA: [ko̞ː]

### Noun

川(かわ) • (kawa)
* river, stream, brook

#### Synonyms

* 河(か)川(せん) (kasen)

### References

* ↑ Frellesvig, Bjarke, Stephen Wright Horn, et al. (eds.) (2023) “Old Japanese kapa”, in Oxford-NINJAL Corpus of Old Japanese‎
* ↑ Stewart A. Curry. (2004) Small linguistics: phonological history and lexical loans in Nakijin dialect Okinawan. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/11526
* ↑ “川・河”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
* ↑ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1974), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Second edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō

## Korean
### Etymology

From Middle Chinese 川 (MC tsyhwen).
Historical Readings :
| Dongguk Jeongun Reading |||
| Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 | ᄎᆑᆫ (Yale: chywèn) | ᄎᆑᆫ (Yale: chywèn) |
| Middle Korean |||
| Text | Eumhun | Eumhun |
| Text | Gloss (hun) | Reading |
| Hunmong Jahoe, 1527 | 내〯 (Yale: nǎy) | 쳔 (Yale: chyèn) |

### Pronunciation

* (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA: [t͡ɕʰʌ̹n]
* Phonetic hangul: [천]

### Hanja

Wikisource 川 (eumhun 내 천 (nae cheon))
* hanja form of 천 (“river; stream”) [affix]

#### Compounds

* 산천 (山川, sancheon)
* 인천 (仁川, Incheon)
* 천렵 (川獵, cheollyeop)
* 하천 (河川, hacheon)

### References

* 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

## Vietnamese
### Han character

川: Hán Nôm readings: xuyên
* chữ Hán form of xuyên (“river”).

#### Compounds

* 四川 (Tứ Xuyên)
* 川芎 (xuyên khung)
* 常川 (thường xuyên)